HAMBURG, Germany — Fabio Fognini moved within one win of his second title in two weeks when he beat third-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain 6-4, 7-6 (1) in the first semifinal of the German Tennis Championships on Saturday.

Fognini won his first career title in Stuttgart last week and is riding a nine-match winning streak.

It was the 12th-seeded Italian's 24th win on clay this season. Fognini is the second Italian to reach the final in Hamburg after Adriano Panatta lost to Manuel Orantes in 1972.

Almagro is second in career clay-court titles among active players with 12. Rafael Nadal has 42.